Rise of Darkness
by Miss Delirium
Summary: When an aspiring trainer meets a girl who clearly needs his help to find her missing Luxray, his entire adventure is going to take some dark and scary twists. First of all, why does his Lucario fear her so much? And what is she running from? Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, the Pokemon names, place names etc. **

**1**

The girl and her Luxray stopped at a river, the storm still raging down upon them. The river was rushing fast past their feet as it met its fate at the hands of a deep waterfall to their left a few yards away. They had been chased all the way from Snowpoint City. The snow was deep and the harsh winds had beaten against them endlessly. They were both exhausted. She knew they were still chasing them, but all she could hear was the storm.  
"This is it Cherry," She told her Luxray. "The only way to lose them is to cross this river." She glanced from left to right for another way. The river was too dangerous, but either way they would find them. The Houndour had their scent, and were only minutes away. She contemplated climbing a tree but that was more risky than crossing the river. A tree could only lead so far.  
She sighed as she stared bleakly at the river's unwelcoming current. She could now hear the barking and howling of the Houndour over the storm. They were getting closer. She looked at her Luxray. "We have to jump," She told her.  
Cherry looked up at her and with a growl spun around to face the oncoming Houndour. She glanced back to her trainer before a howl grabbed her full attention.  
Understanding what her Luxray was trying to say, the girl leapt into the harsh waters. A flash of lightning was the last thing she saw as the waterfall claimed her.

Randie almost tripped as he tried to follow his Eevee through the bushes. She was a playful little creature that often enjoyed being chased by him. He had named her Flit for this reason. "Hold on!" He called after her as she shot through yet another berry bush. On the other side he found her sniffing at something by the river bed.  
"What have you got there?" He asked her as he approached slowly. He almost jumped back in shock when he realised it was a girl. Flit appeared to be trying to drag her onto the grass.  
"We should get help," He told her. "Maybe a Pokemon Centre could help her?"  
Flit, realising she was much too small to drag a human adult out of water, stopped and looked up at her trainer.  
He pulled a Pokeball off his belt and summoned out a Lucario. "Hi Ludo," He addressed him. "Do you think you could carry this girl to a Pokemon Centre?"  
Ludo looked down at the girl. "I think so," He told his trainer through telepathy. He lifted the girl up almost effortlessly. He paused with her in his arms. "She has a Pokeball, Randie. But I sense no life in it."  
Randie took the Pokeball from the girl's belt and tried to open it, but nothing was summoned out. "It's empty. What do you think happened?"  
Ludo shook his head. "I have no idea. We should go."  
They headed for Hearthome City, Ludo carrying the girl carefully. Randie couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her. Ludo appeared deep in thought, and Randie wanted to know if he was wondering the same thing.  
They reached the Pokemon Centre, and when they entered the nurse rushed from behind the desk to help them, a Chansey following close behind.  
"What on Earth has happened?!" The nurse asked them.  
"We found her by the river," Randie told her. "Can you help her?"  
"Of course we can," The nurse told them. "Chansey, please take this girl to the emergency room."  
The Chansey obliged, taking the girl from Ludo's arms.  
"So she isn't a friend of yours?" The nurse asked them.  
Randie shook his head. "No, but we couldn't leave her there."  
"Of course not," The nurse told them. "You did the right thing. Do you wish to wait here for a while? Until she wakes up?"  
Randie was about to answer yes until Ludo put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.  
"We must be going, really..." Randie told her. He looked at Ludo, wondering what was wrong.  
"That's fine," The nurse told them. "But you are welcome to rest a while." She followed the Chansey into the back of the hospital.  
"What's wrong?" Randie asked his Lucario.  
Ludo glanced to the door the nurse had passed through. "That girl is bad news, Randie. She has a very dark soul. We should leave here."  
Randie now felt nervous. "What do you mean? Is she evil?"  
"Not evil," Ludo told him. "I don't know what it is. I was picking up confusing messages. Either way, it is best not to mix with her."

When the girl regained consciousness she was aware of being on a bed. At first she thought she was back home and rolled over to put her arm around something... that wasn't there. She snapped awake. "Cherry?!" She was in a hospital. Realisation hit her... Cherry was gone. She fell backwards onto the bed, tears welling in her eyes.  
"Is Cherry your Pokemon?" She heard a kind voice say. She looked over to see a nurse next to her setting a tray of tea on a little table. "I'm sorry to say this but... the Pokeball with you was empty."  
The girl turned her attention to the ceiling.  
"What is your name?" The nurse asked her.  
The girl sighed and considered a moment before telling the nurse her name. "Siren."  
"Siren?" The nurse looked at her. "That's an unusual name."  
The girl looked away.  
"I don't know what happened to you, but a boy and his Lucario bought you here."  
Siren sighed. She'd been helped. That meant she'd have to continue running. "I need to get out of here," She told the nurse.  
"But you aren't ready yet," The nurse told her. "You almost drowned."  
"I know," Siren said bitterly. She sat up. "Look, I need to get out of here."  
The nurse looked worried. "I really shouldn't let you yet, but if you really need to leave then-"  
Siren leapt from the bed. She paused and looked back at the surprised nurse. "Thank you... for your help." She told her, then she left the Pokemon Centre.  
Siren stopped outside the doors of the Pokemon Centre and took in her surroundings. She was in Hearthome City. That was quite a while off from Snowpoint City, but she had no idea how long she had been unconscious for. She had never thought to ask the nurse, so she had to act as though the odds were not in her favour that they had tracked her this far. She had no idea where to go, or who to trust. The nurse had told her a boy and his Lucario had took her to the Pokemon Centre. If it was someone who worked for _them_, then he wouldn't have acted so kindly. Maybe he was a good start for someone to help her. Or was it a cunning plan to trap her willingly? She had no idea, but if she found him, which she was adamant now to do, she would have to be careful about trusting him too openly.  
Also – she had to get Cherry back.

Randie was preparing to leave Hearthome City. He had his map out trying to plot a route for his next town. He was originally training on the outskirts of the city, but Ludo really wanted to move on now for fear the strange girl would bring them into danger. He sighed. He really wanted to know what had happened to her, and if she was okay.  
With Ludo back inside his Pokeball and Flit at his side, he headed for the gates of Hearthome City to make his way to Solaceon Town. However, someone pushed past him. He glanced up at whoever it was to protest then realised it was the girl he had helped earlier that day.  
"Hey!" He said, happily. "It's you!"  
The girl looked at him shocked, then ran through the gates. Without thinking, he ran after her.  
"Wait!" He shouted as he followed her through the gates. She was very quick and once he was out of the other side of the city gates he lost her. He thought she must be hiding somewhere, but he didn't bother looking. Instead he decided to do some training and called Ludo out of his Pokeball.  
Ludo looked at him. "Are you sure you want to train here?"  
"That girl's gone now," Randie told him. "We should be okay."  
Ludo closed his eyes for a moment, scanning the area for any potential dangers. He looked back at Randie. "She's still here, I can feel her."  
Instinctively, Randie looked around trying to spot her.  
Ludo edged closer to his trainer. "She's watching us."  
"Really?" Randie felt nervous. "Where is she?"  
Flit barked at something moving nearby, and sure enough they spotted the girl as she edged out of a bush very close to their left, looking rather afraid. She kept some distance between them and her, as though she thought she may need to run from them again.  
"You... you're the boy who saved me aren't you?" She asked him.  
Randie nodded. "How did you know?"  
"The nurse told me some boy and his Lucario saved me." She told them. "Thank you..."  
'She doesn't look very thankful,' Randie though. Ludo looked over at him, he had clearly picked up on his thoughts.  
"I was wondering if you could help me some more," The girl asked him.  
Randie and Ludo exchanged glances. "I'm not so sure," Ludo told him, making sure the girl didn't pick up on his thought waves. "I worry she'll lead us into danger."  
Randie turned to the girl. "That depends what you need I'm afraid."  
"Well," The girl told them. "I lost my Pokemon while I was washed away. I really want to find her. She's a Luxray."  
Randie looked at Ludo again, who didn't say anything to him. He looked back to the girl. "How did you end up almost drowning?"  
"That's not for you to know," The girl told him. "As soon as we find Cherry, I will leave you. Can you help me?"  
Ludo pulled Randie closer to him. "If she wont tell us what happened, don't help her. Like I said – there is something very strange about her."  
The girl sighed. "If your Lucario is too scared to help me, I understand. I can tell it doesn't want to." She turned away.  
Ludo released Randie and sighed.  
"Wait!" Randie called after her. "We will help you. What is your name?"  
The girl looked back at them and smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. "You can call me Siren."


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Nervously, Randie followed after Siren with Ludo and Flit at his side. He had decided against calling either of them back as he wanted the familiar company – and assistance should Siren turn on him or any dangers pop up. She made him feel very uneasy. It occurred to him he hadn't asked her where they were going. He decided to ask her, but before he could speak she beat him to it.  
"If you're wondering where I'm taking you, it's back to the river," She told him.  
Randie took a step back, surprised and felt Ludo's reassuring paw touch his shoulder. "How did you-"  
"I just guessed you'd be wondering," She told him. "I was washed down that river from Snowpoint. Cherry didn't follow me into the water. If she's looking for me, she'd probably be following it until she finds me."  
"Snowpoint?" Randie was confused. "It's freezing up there, wouldn't the water have killed you?"  
Siren paused then glanced back at him. "It almost did."  
"Almost!" Randie snorted then calmed himself. "Well, you were lucky. Let's hope Cherry is close by then."  
Siren didn't reply.  
They walked in silence for a while, and Randie found himself compiling a list of questions he wanted to ask her. He decided to venture one.  
"Is Cherry your only Pokemon then?"  
"Yes," Came his reply.  
"Well, why didn't you catch any others?" This seemed like an obvious enough task to him.  
Siren didn't reply. He decided not to press her any further on the matter. She then looked back at him.  
"Are the Lucario and Eevee _your_ only Pokemon?" She asked him.  
"No," He told her.  
"Oh really?" She asked him, then faced forward again. "Do you have anyone who can scan the area for me?"  
Randie looked down at his belt, and plucked a Pokeball from it. He summoned out his first ever Pokemon catch – Mothim. Mothim seemed to smile at him and did a little backflip in the air.  
"This is Binky," He told Siren.  
"Binky?" She snorted with disapproval. "Well, the names are your choice at the end of the day I guess." She looked at the Mothim who was now dancing in the air, clearly enjoying his freedom. "So, _this_ is the little scout who is going to scan ahead for us?"  
Randie glared at Siren. "Hey! Binky here is totally reliable!" He turned to his Mothim. "Binky, do you think you could scan the river for a Luxray for us?"  
With a final backflip, Binky flew through the trees at a speed that surpised even Siren.  
Randie smiled at her. "I told you he's reliable."  
"Speed is nothing," She told him and walked on ahead.  
Randie was growing impatient with her now. He had faith in his Mothim, and trusted him with this task entirely. As they walked on ahead in total silence, he eagerly awaited his Pokemon's return. He wanted to find this Luxray and get back to his Gym Challenge.

The sun was setting quickly, and still Binky had not returned. Randie was growing worried. Ludo sensed this.  
"I'm sure he is fine," He told Randie.  
"I hope so," He replied. "He's been gone a long time now."  
Siren had stopped under a large tree and was settling down. "We rest now." She told him.  
Randie sat down with Ludo under a tree a few feet away from her. Flit climbed into his lap and curled up, she was shattered from all the walking.  
"I still don't trust her," Ludo told him. "I've been trying to read her mind, but she's impossible."  
Randie shrugged. "When this is over, we can go our own seperate ways. And hopefully, that will be soon."  
"Let's stay positive that Binky finds that Luxray," Ludo sighed and stared blankly through the trees.  
"He's been gone too long, and it's dark now," Randie replied. "I'm worried, but I shall stay hopeful."  
Randie looked over to Siren who had fallen asleep propped up on a tree. She looked much less unnerving now, and he took a good look at her. Her hair was longer than he though it was, coming past her shoulders and was very black for her pale complexion. Her clothes looked a mess though as they were still stained with mud from the river. He glanced over at Ludo who had also fallen asleep, then his mind drifted to Binky. He wondered if he was okay, and if he'd found somewhere safe to sleep for the night. Despite his worry for his Mothim's safety, Randie was exhausted and quickly succumbed to sleep.

Binky had flown most of the length of the river and it was now dark, and very very cold. His wings were growing tired, but he pressed on. He didn't want to let his trainer down. He scanned the darkness for any sign of the Luxray he had been asked to find. It wasn't looking good.  
He needed to rest desperately. There were some trees ahead of him – leafless and uninviting – but they would have to do. He headed down towards them and was bracing himself for a landing, when cruel hands grabbed him.  
"Got a stray," a voice said. "Mothim don't live around these cold parts. Think it's working for _her_?"  
"Probably," came another voice. "You know what to do with it."  
He was too tired to struggle free. There was a blinding pain, and the world went black.

"Wake up!"  
The harsh voice snapped Randie into the waking world. He sat bolt upright (Flit flew off his chest in a panic yelping in what she could only hope was an intimidating manner) and once the shock had subsided he met the cold eyes of Siren.  
"We have to move on," She told him. "We've been here too long now." She turned away from him and made to walk through the trees.  
Randie stood up and turned to Ludo who had managed to calm Flit down. "I'd like some breakfast first," He told him sadly, but followed after Siren.  
"No sign of that Mothim of yours," She told him.  
Randie was fully aware of that but said nothing. He didn't want to bring himself false hope.  
Ludo tapped his arm gently to get his attention. "I've scanned the area for his energy signature, but there is nothing yet. I'll keep checking."  
Randie nodded. "Thanks." Relieved that Ludo could perform such a task, his mind drifted to breakfast. He was really hungry, and starting to wish Siren would lead them to a bakery or small cafe.  
"I don't know this area very well," Siren told them, "I'm not from around here, but if there's a town ahead we'll stop for some breakfast."  
Randie was rather taken aback, but welcomed the idea. He pulled his map out of his bag's side pocket and glanced over it. "It turns out we are heading towards Solaceon Town."  
"Great," Siren replied without enthusiasm. "We can stop there."  
They continued to walk in silence. Randie was growing rather bored and very concerned. Since they met this girl, his conversations with Ludo had lessened. He loved having a companion that could speak with him as he often travelled without human company, but something was clearly bothering the Lucario. He made a mental note to himself to ask him as soon as they got a moment alone without the strange girl. He kept himself occupied by looking over his map. He noticed they were going the long way up to Snowpoint City by avoiding Mount Coronet and that the river had broken into two falling down on either side of the mountain. They had started off where they had found Siren... but what if Cherry had gone down the other fork looking for them? Also would Binky had though to check both forks? He wanted to raise these questions, but Siren made him feel to nervous with her abrubt replies and blatant disinterest in maintaining conversation with him. So he turned to Ludo.  
"You are right," Ludo agreed with him. "It is very probable the Luxray followed the wrong part of the river. Still there is no sign of Binky, but his trail is still in the air. I don't think he would have checked both sides yet, if at all. He may not have even noticed."  
Randie felt his heart sink. They could be on a wild goose chase. He looked up at Siren, but something had taken the girl's attention and she had become very nervous. She stopped suddenly and stared ahead. Randie followed her eyes – Solaceon Town was now in view. But something about it had made Siren nervous, and going off Ludo's reaction it had got to him too.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

"Something is wrong," Ludo told him. "Very wrong."  
Randie looked out to the town, feeling Flit push up against his leg shaking. He took in the picture – a nice looking farm town with a clear blue sky above it, the sun beaming down on the trees. People were moving about chatting to each other, working with farm machines, moving herds of Miltank and Mareep through fields. It looked very tranquil, but something was bothering the others.  
Siren took a step back and turned to Randie. "We are going around this town. I'm sorry, we can find a meal somewhere else."  
"What's wrong with it?" Randie asked her. "It looks like a normal town to me."  
Siren dismissed his question by heading west through the trees, staying as close to them as she could.  
Randie looked over at Ludo.  
"We can not stay with her," He told Randie. "There is something wrong in Solaceon Town, but the threat is fading now she is moving away from here. It involves her."  
"And you have no idea what it is?" Randie asked.  
Ludo shook his head. "I don't wish to know either."  
"We made a promise," Randie told him. "And Binky is at risk – he's out looking for the Luxray. If he's in danger, we need to find him."  
Ludo sighed. "Okay. But only until we find Binky. Then we leave her."  
Randie nodded. "I want to get away from her as much as you do."  
They followed after her, and Randie tried to keep up. He called after her. "Siren, what is wrong? It looks like any other normal town!"  
She didn't answer.  
"Come on!" Randie called. "We're helping you, the least you could do is tell us what's wrong!"  
Siren spun around and faced him. "Just respect that fact I said no. I am not going to lead you into danger. Okay?"  
Randie stared at her, and paused for a moment, his eyes locked onto hers which he noticed were a strange violet colour.  
"Well..." He heard himself say. "It looked safe enough."  
Siren shook her head and turned away from him. "We can stop in the next town," She told him, and walked ahead. That, Randie thought, was clearly the end of that conversation.

Colours came first. Bright and painful. He opened his eyes and looked around. Cages. His world was cages full of the sounds of crying Pokemon. He tried to stand but his wings weighed him down. He was still tired, and felt brutally sick.  
He blinked a few times, trying to get the colours and cage bars to make sense. The sounds were too confusing – barking, screeching, chittering amongst other noises all competing with each other to be understood. He let out a frustrated chatter as he tried to stand again, grabbing the bars in his tiny hands. He swayed and steadied himself. His wings were really heavy, and he became aware he couldn't move them. Then he became aware of the pain that ran through them and down his back, intensifying as he gained full conciousness. He went dizzy and fell to the floor of his cage again in a crumpled heap, landing on his wings which sent a sickening pain through his body. He rolled over onto his front and lay there, turning his attention through the bars. Across from him was a cage with a Flaaffy in and it looked in pitiful shape – matted fur, sad eyes and no glow in its tail. It was staring out at the room blankly with no hope for freedom. Next to it was a very noisy Sneasel fighting with the bars and hissing and yowling at the top of its lungs. On the other side of the Flaaffy was a sleeping Serviper covered in wounds and appeared to be underweight. Other cages opposite him had many other prisoners – a crying Pichu to his far right reaching through the bars of its cage to one directly opposite containing a female Pikachu who was also reaching through her bars; a very angry Growlithe occupied another cage across the room blowing cinders that had absolutely no affect on the room; a frustrated Ambipom was rattling the bars of its cage next to the Growlithe; Pichu's neighbour was a screaming Whismur. There were too many prisoners to take in, all with obscene injuries like his own. He wanted to know what this place was, and why he was here. He would have to start asking questions.  
He dragged himself closer to the bars to get a better look around the room. He wanted to know who his own neighbours were, and ask them what this place was. The noises were making no sense. He had translated a few screams for freedom, of protest, pain, fear...  
He chattered through the bars at the cage next to him. He could not see its occupier. He got no reply, so he tried again louder this time. A buzz was his reply. This could have been one of many occupants. Wanting a clearer answer, he tried again. He got a louder more aggressive sounding buzz, almost a bark. He let this sink in for a moment, then he had it. Luxray!

It felt like they had been walking for hours now. Solaceon Town was far behind them, and Ludo had calmed down a lot, as had Siren. Randie was getting hungrier by the second and was really starting to wish he had packed supplies before agreeing to follow Siren on her quest to find her Luxray.  
He glanced over at Ludo who was looking rather miserable. He knew his companion was uncomfortable. It was Siren causing this and he wanted so much to ask Ludo why. He kept thinking the question, hoping the Lucario would pick up on it and answer him. It often worked to talk in this way, Ludo was always scanning his mind for conversation. It was weird to walk in this much silence. Siren didn't talk to him either, she kept herself to herself and bossed him around. She shunned any attempt at coversation, shrugged off any questions he asked and always walked ahead. He wondered if she would even notice if they gave her the slip.  
They followed after her, keeping a good distance. He had really wanted to stop off in the next town for a well earned rest and a meal. He wondered what it was that had spooked them so badly in Solaceon Town. He had tried to spot it, but he could see nothing. It couldn't have just spooked Pokemon because it had startled Siren enough to not want to venture in. What was it? It didn't even seem to be bothering the town's inhabitants. Was it a ghost or something, or maybe something worse?  
"Believe me, you are better off not knowing," He heard Siren say.  
Then it hit him. Siren could read minds. And that was why Ludo wouldn't speak with him. He stared at her. "You can read minds?"  
Siren turned away and started to walk away from him. He ran over to her and stopped in front of her. She glared at him.  
"Seriously now," He told her. "Can you read minds?"  
Siren sighed. "Yes. Now lets -"  
Randie stopped her. "So that means you've been listening in to any conversation I have with Ludo, you know what I've been thinking - amongst other things?"  
Siren looked hard at him. "Listen. I didn't ask for this ability okay? It is not something I can control. Can we move on?"  
"What's the rush?" Randie asked her, folding his arms. "I don't really want to help you now. You just get stranger and wierder and now I don't trust you at all. You rushed us away from Solaceon Town without so much as an explanation, you eavesdrop on our conversations, we can't keep anything from you, yet this whole situation we are in – you are keeping details from us! If we are going to end up in any danger, I want to know!"  
Siren looked away from him. He knew he'd scored a point here. She sighed. "Fine. But we walk and talk okay? They might not be far behind us." She walked on, and gestured for him to follow when he held back.  
Randie kept pace at her side as she spoke.  
"About Solaceon," She began, "There were some people hanging around there you couldn't see. I could hear their thoughts – and so could your Lucario. They were looking for me. I have a price on my head." When Randie didn't say anything she continued. "I'm an escaped prisoner, but not from any jail. I can't tell you everything now – I don't really understand what happened myself to be honest. But Cherry and I escaped from that place, but we were spotted and chased all the way to Snowpoint City. We took up hiding there, but were found after a couple of days. So we ran again."  
Randie looked up at her. "What kind of prison was this then? What did you do?"  
"I didn't do anything," She told him. "I was there from a very young age. It's a terrible organization that take in Orphans and stray Pokemon. I'm the only escapee so far, I think."  
Randie tried to take this in. It sounded too strange to him. What did this 'organization' do?  
"If you are wondering what they do there," She told him, "It's too horrible. You are better off not knowing."  
Randie laughed. There was going to be no quiet thinking moments around Siren. He looked back over his shoulder at Ludo who was following behind him with Flit. They were both still nervous he could tell.  
"You have no way of stopping yourself reading minds?" Randie asked her.  
Siren shook her head. "I have as much control over it as your Lucario does."  
Randie looked back at Ludo. He nodded. So he was always reading minds too? He found himself coming up with too many questions to ask her. But judging by her sudden nervousness they would have to wait. She glanced back over her shoulder, grabbed Randie's arm and ran.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Something was chasing them, he could hear it crashing through the bushes and dry grass behind him. He was struggling to keep up with Siren, but refused to look back at whatever was tailing them. Ludo and Flit were following behind them on the defensive. He was worried for them. Without warning, Siren suddenly led them through a dense field of stinging nettles. They were tall plants that snagged at his clothes and struck his face as he ran through them. He tried to ignore the offensive spines and bolted after Siren trying not to lose here in the sea of nettles. He felt his foot hit something hard and stumbled, falling into the plants. He shouted out as he hit the floor. A blue clawed foot appeard at his side and he looked up to find Ludo next to him, facing the oncoming danger. There was a howl and a massive black Barghest-like creature dived through the nettles straight for him. Ludo pounced at it, knocking it down mid jump. "Run!" He called to his trainer.  
Randie stood up and raced after Siren. He feared he had lost her, but he was soon out of the nettles and spotted her looking worried waiting for him. "Come on!" She called to him, leading him further into the forest.  
Randie stopped to look back at the sea of nettles. "But Ludo is-"  
Siren grabbed his arm and dragged him after her. He glanced back to see little Flit chasing after him, trying to keep up. But there was no sign of Ludo.  
Siren slowed. "We've lost it."  
Randie glared at her. "Ludo is back there fighting that thing!"  
Siren looked back towards the nettles. "I think he is fine."  
"What makes you think that?" Randie shouted. "He's not here!"  
"That thing you are referring to is a Houndoom," Siren told him. "It is a Dark and Fire Pokemon. Ludo will have the advantage being fighting. Am I right?"  
Randie fixed her with a fearful stare. "No, he is _steel_ and fighting," He told her. "It's an even match. Fire is Ludo's weakness..."  
Siren grabbed his arm again and made to drag him away. There was an earsplitting howl and the Houndoom shot from the sea of nettles like a bullet – its red eyes glowing like fire in its black head - heading straight for them. Without thinking, Randie grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it into the air.  
A torrent of water hit the Houndoom head on, knocking it to the floor.  
Randie stared at the Houndoom, now unconcious lying in a puddle of water. He turned his attention to the Buizel which was now at his side. "Thanks Otto," He called it back.  
Siren put a hand on his shoulder. "That was a lucky shot," She told him. She headed back to the nettles.  
Randie followed after her. "Why are you going back?"  
"You want to find Ludo don't you?" She didn't even look back at him.  
They entered the nettle field and Randie raced forward, desperately trying to find his friend. Little Flit was sniffing in every direction, trying to fix onto Ludo's scent. Her ears pricked up and she ran through the nettles, Randie following after her. They found Ludo lying unconcious on the ground. With a pained cry Randie dropped to his side and threw his arms around the Lucario's neck.  
Siren knelt down next to him. "It's not your fault," She told him.  
"I should have called him back..." Randie told her. "And just ran."  
Siren sighed. "Would he have come back knowing you were in danger?"  
Randie thought about that. Ludo would most definitely have refused.  
"You see," Siren sighed again, "Cherry did the same thing for me."  
Randie looked at her. "What do you mean?"  
"We were being chased," She told him. "We reached the river. She held back to fight a pack of Houndour as I tried to escape. I didn't want her to, it was too dangerous, but she risked her own life to give me them extra few seconds to reach safety." She patted Randie's shoulder and stood up. "Come on, call him back. We'll get him to a Pokemon Centre."  
Randie called Ludo back to his Pokeball and stood up. He followed after Siren as she led them back out of the nettles. She called over her shoulder to him, "There is a town not too far away. We can stop there."

Siren was right, they arrived in Celestic Town in less than an hour. Randie ran straight to the Pokemon Centre and handed all six of his Pokeballs to the nurse. He was pained when she handed back his Mothim's Pokeball to declare it empty. He apologised and took it from her, then slumped into a chair in the waiting room in a cloud of depression. What had become of Binky?  
A few minutes later, Siren sat down next to him. "We've been offered dinner. Do you want to join me in the cafe?"  
Randie was really hungry so he followed the strange girl to the Pokemon Centre's cafe. He ordered a large hot meal and joined Siren at a small table by the window. She had just picked a sandwich and seemed to be lost in a daydream. He stared out of the window, unconciously scanning the sky for Binky. He found it unlikely now that his Mothim would even be able to find him now they were so far from Hearthome City where he had last seen him. He sighed. A plate clinking onto the table infront of him snapped his attention from the window. He thanked the waitress and tucked into his baked potato and tuna.  
As he enjoyed his meal in silence he started thinking about what Siren had said. Her Luxray had sacrificed its own wellbeing to save her, just like Ludo had done for him. Some organazation was chasing after her for some reason he did not know and they had those massive Barghest-like Pokemon working for them. He had never seen a Houndoom until today. He pulled his Pokedex from his pocket and looked it up.  
"Houndoom," Said the Pokedex in a mechanical voice. "A Fire and Dark Pokemon native to the Johto region. It's eerie howls were once thought to bring doom and be the call of the Grim Reaper. The flames from its mouth have a pungent smell due to toxins burning in its body. It someone is to receive a burn from these flames, the pain will never go away. In a Houndoom pack, the one with the horns that curve sharpest to the back is the leader. They are aggressive Pokemon that fight amongst themselves."  
Randie stared at the picture of the Houndoom on the Pokedex screen. Now he wasn't being attacked by one, he could take it's form in. It was a slender looking Pokemon shaped much like a dog – black and brown in colour - with long thin curved horns on its head. It had what looked like part of an exoskeleton down its back and around its neck with a small skull on its chest. Its tail was thin and whip-like with a spike on the end. It was a powerful looking creature and he found the desire to capture one, but nevertheless he was scared of it.  
He put the Pokedex back in his pocket and turned his attention back to his meal.  
Siren pushed her now empty plate away and looked at him. "So... Lucario, Mothim, Eevee, Buizel... what other Pokemon do you have on you?"  
Randie felt a pang as she mentioned Mothim. He sighed. "Well I also have Pachirisu and Chingling." He looked at Siren's amused expression but ignored it. "Nutsy and Echo."  
Siren stifled a laugh at Randie's choice of names.  
"Flit was given to me by my Dad five years ago," Randie told her. "She was my first Pokemon. She was given to me on my thirteenth birthday. If it wasn't for Flit I would never have gone to get my licence."  
"Five years?" Siren stared at him. "When did you start your Gym Challenge then?"  
Randie smiled. "I'm from Hoenn. I've only been in Sinnoh a few months. I changed my team around when I saw all the strange Pokemon over here."  
Siren raised an eyebrow. "Hoenn? Wow." She smiled. "I envy you, Randie. I would love to travel like that."  
Randie finished his meal and promptly started to think about dessert.  
Siren got up. "Wait there, I'll get some cakes."

The men dressed in black stopped at the nettle field behind the barking Houndour pack. One of them – the man in charge – turned to the others. "She's gone this way."  
"Houndoom still tailing her?" One of them asked in a gruff voice.  
The boss looked back out across the field. "I don't know. She can't have beaten it. Let us hope she's lying somewhere."  
"Be easier to catch that way," The gruff man said.  
The boss blew a whistle and the Houndour shot through the nettles barking, hot on the girl's trail. The men followed after her. Towards Celestic Town.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Cherry launched another Spark attack at the bars of her confinements. She had to get out. The Mothim next to her was in a critical condition. Its wings were broken, and it was in pain. And it had told her that it had been sent by its trainer to find a Luxray. Its trainer was with a human girl. Cherry knew this was Siren. She had given up all hope of finding her trainer and had given her up for dead. She had stayed in this terrible place in hope of being with her again soon on the spirit plane. However – she was alive. And now Cherry had to get out.  
She bounced off the door of her cage again. They were clearly resistant to her electric attacks. She glanced around the room. Her thrashing around hadn't alerted the other Pokemon captives, or any of the white-coated humans that tortured them. She took a step back from the door of the cage. She hadn't tried anything yet. She growled deep in her throat and launched herself into the doors again, using her strong jaws to Crunch through the steel of the lock. It resisted, but only just. She continued to tear at the hard material, bending and chizling away at it. Eventually she had managed to pry the lock loose, and the door swung open.  
She poked her head out of the door and turned her attacks onto the locks of the Mothim's cage. He chirped at her as he shuffled back out of the way. She made short work of the padlock and gently removed him from his cage in her jaws.  
Mission accomplished. Cherry dived from the shelf landing nimbly on the ground and placed the Mothim on her back. He gripped her coarse fur with his tiny hands and, assured that he was safe, dived for the door. She threw her weight into it. It didn't give. She kept on trying until she heard human voices. She stepped back. Two white-coated humans opened the door. Before they saw her she ran at them. She took them by surprise with a carefully aimed Thunderbolt attack, flooring them painfully. She dived over them and made for the main exit. This was too easy – the door was open as one of the white-coats was stood outside with a smoking stick in his mouth. She ran past him.  
Alarms were blaring now, but she was away from that place now. Racing through the snow she had her heart set on safety. The Mothim chittered at her. She listened to him. She was headed for Hearthome City.

The familiar chime from the Pokemon Centre alerted Randie that his Lucario was ready for collection. He stood up from his seat in the waiting room and went over to the doors of the emergency room where a nurse was waiting for him.  
Ludo was sat on the bad looking rather downcast. He looked up at Randie as he entered.  
"I'm sorry," Ludo told him. "I let you down."  
Randie shook his head. "You tried your best." He sat down next to Ludo.  
"You were in danger," Ludo told him. "That Houndoom would have killed you. I was meant to protect you." He closed his eyes sadly.  
Randie put an arm around him. "Well it didn't. If you hadn't have weakened it so much we would never have beaten it. You did well."  
Ludo looked at him. "I will do better next time. But let's hope there isn't a next time." He looked over at the door. "Are we still with Siren?"  
"Yes," Randie told him. "Are you ready to go now?"  
Ludo didn't answer. He stared blankly through the door. He knew his Lucario was blaming this whole thing on Siren. He sighed as he stood up and turnd to Ludo.  
"Please," He told him. "It isn't Siren who's trouble. Its the people after her."  
Ludo nodded. "I know full well of those who are after her. I read her mind."  
"Then why didn't you say anything to me earlier?" Randie asked.  
"Because she can hear me," Ludo answered. "She's very telepathic Randie. It's inhuman. And those who are after her will take anyone – Human or Pokemon. It is very dangerous, we shouldn't be mixing with her. If they find us, they will take us."  
"Well," Randie glanced out of the door then back at Ludo. "Why are they after Siren if they can take anyone?"  
"She escaped," Ludo told him. "And after what I have seen in her mind, they wont want _anyone_ hearing about what they do there."  
"What?" Randie asked, but Ludo's attention snapped to the door. Siren was stood there and she looked scared.  
"It's them," She panted. "They're here, we have to run."  
Ludo fixed Randie with a panicked stare. "I told you! Now we're in danger. Again!"  
"You didn't have to help me!" Siren snapped at him. She grabbed Randie's arm to lead him away, but he snatched his arm back.  
"Not after last time Siren," He told her.  
She stared at him, panic in her eyes. "I'm sorry Randie." She made to walk away. "But... they will have your scent now too..."  
"Why?" Randie asked her. "They've never even met me..."  
She turned to him. "You've helped me. They'll have picked you up on the trail..." She walked over to the window and looked out. "They are here. We're trapped."  
Screaming and yelling could be heard from down the hallway of the Pokemon Centre. Ludo leapt up from the bed, preparing himself for a fight.  
"What do we do now?!" Randie shouted at her. "You've landed us in this mess Siren!"  
She ran to the doorway and looked down the hallway. The sound of barking echoed up it, growing louder. "Houndour!" She panicked. She ran to Randie and grabbed his arm. "Please, come with me. We'll go out the window."  
She dragged him to the window. There was a smash as a small black shape dived through it. It fixed its red eyes on them and growled, then dived at them. Ludo swept infront of them and knocked it away into the wall where it fell unconcious. He spun around to face an oncoming barrage of the beasts as they raced into the room through the door barking and howling.  
Siren held onto Randie. Ludo stood infront of them, knocking the Houndour down as they dived at him. She reached out and grabbed his arm. Suddenly, everything went white. Everything went silent. Randie wondered for a moment if he had died. Then the surroundings changed to trees and grass. He looked around. They were in woodland again.  
He turned to Siren. "What happened?" He looked at Ludo. "Did you Teleport us?"  
Ludo shook his head. "I know no Psychic moves Randie." He looked at Siren. "It was her."  
She was staring at her hands, pure panic filling her eyes. "What did they do to me?" She looked through the trees scanning for any sign of the people who were chasing her.  
"Siren?" Randie approached her. "How did you-"  
She stepped away from him, shaking her head. "I don't know."  
"You must know, you did it!" Randie snapped.  
He felt Ludo's paw on his shoulder. "She really doesn't know, Randie. It is all a blank to her."  
"Get out of my head Lucario," Siren told him. "And know, I really don't know how I did that. Humans can't Teleport." She slumped to the floor at the base of a tree. "I wish I knew how..."  
Randie and Ludo exchanged glances.  
"Siren," Randie sat next to her. "What do they do there, where you escaped from?"  
Siren looked at him. "You really want to know, don't you."  
Randie nodded. "I just want to know what I'm running from."  
"Orion," Siren told him. "That's what they call themselves. They do genetic experimentations on the Humans and Pokemon they catch. Amongst other gruesome brutal things. They create their own Pokemon creations. I don't really know what for, I was caught too soon looking through their computer files. They think I know something that if it leaks out would ruin any plans they have. I don't." She sighed. "Anyway, as for what they do – I know they created a Pokemon that had extreme Psychic powers that could put a Mewtwo to shame. I don't know what they did to the children, but I didn't have these psychic abilities all my life. I woke up this way... just before I escaped."  
"So they gave you these powers?" Randie asked her.  
Siren nodded. "That's the only explanation. They caught me going through the computers and knocked me out."  
Randie looked away from her. Knowing what they were dealing with made the situation a whole lot scarier.

"She's not here," The gruff man said.  
The boss was stood behind him, scanning the room. The Houndour were sniffing by the window.  
"Lost her trail," The gruff man said. He turned to his boss.  
The boss walked forward to the Houndour. He turned back to the gruff man. "Any idea how she just vanished?"  
The gruff man shrugged.  
The boss looked back to the window. "Teleport," He said. He stepped forward in one stride and looked out of the window. "She used Teleport."


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

Randie scanned the map again, though it was useless. He had no idea where Siren had Teleported them to, nor did she. When asked where she had intended to land them, she just answered "somewhere safe!" and was growing frustrated with all of his questions. She had now decided to 'nap' underneath a tree, though Randie was fully aware she was just ignoring him to stop him questioning her.

Ludo was pacing anxiously. He didn't like not knowing where they were and he was worried the men on their trail would find them very soon. Flit was sitting calmly at Randie's feet and was watching the Lucario pacing around with much humour in her eyes.

Randie folded the map up untidily and shoved it into his bag. He flopped down onto the floor next to Siren. "Should we move on?" He asked her.

"Where to?" She asked him without opening her eyes. "We're lost."

"It's better to be lost and safe than racing around with them loons after us," He told her.

She sighed. "What if we end up heading back towards Celestic Town? We'll run headlong into danger."

Randie looked at her. "Can't you... you know... scan the area for them?"

Siren snorted. "How far do you think my telepathy extends?"

Randie sighed. "Well we can't stay here."

Siren finally opened her eyes and stared through the trees on her right. "Well all we can do is head blindly in any direction and hope we don't run into any of _them_." She stood up.

Randie got to his feet, shouldered his bag and stood at Siren's side. He called over to Ludo and Flit to join them.

"I don't like the feeling of this," Siren told them as she led them through the woods. "I just know we're going to get into some trouble."

The Luxray plowed her way through the snow with Binky clinging to her back. He didn't like the cold at all, it was a major weakness of his. He had his eyes closed, not daring to open them for fear of what he would see. He was terrified, and his wings were really hurting. They hung limply at his sides, but the motion of the Luxray racing against the wind was forcing them to blow painfully backwards. The wind was drowining out his chittering as he tried to find out how close they were to Hearthome City. The Luxray just heard him though and growled back a static reply. They still had a long way to go, but the river was in sight.

Binky dared to open his eyes for a moment. It was dark, and snow blew at him glistening in the dim moonlight like tiny but very cold stars. He quickly closed his eyes again against the cold flakes. He felt helpless clinging on to the Luxray's coarse fur. He was also very tired, but fought against sleep for fear of being blown away.

Randie sighed. He turned to Siren. "Is there any chance you have taken us south?"

"Yes," Siren answered bluntly.

"So there is a possibility we may be even further from our destination than we already were?" He asked her.

"Yes," Siren answered. "Believe it or not Randie, it has already crossed my mind."

Randie paused for a moment before asking his next question. "Do you think you could Teleport us again? Closer to Snowpoint?"

Siren shook her head. "I could try, but I don't want to risk missing Cherry."

Randie nodded. He also didn't want to risk missing Binky. He wished he knew where he was. There was no sign of any City life, nor did there seem to be an end to this wood. He looked over at Ludo.

"Can you sense any people?" He asked him.

Ludo shook his head. "Just Pokemon."

"Any idea which kind?"

"Bugs," Ludo answered. "In the trees."

Randie hesitated for a moment. "Bugs?"

Siren looked at him. "Is there a problem?" She raised an eyebrow. "The Mothim trainer isn't scared of Bugs is he?"

"No no," Randie shook his head. "It's just... I think this is Eterna Forest."

Siren looked ahead again. "That would make sense."

Randie whisked his map out again. "In that case you shot us West of Celestic Town. So we would be travelling up the West side of Mount Coronet to get to Snowpoint."

Siren nodded and smiled. "Wow. That means we have an entire river and mountain range between us and Orion."

"It's a relief indeed," Randie sighed. "They wouldn't have the faintest idea of our whereabouts now anyway."

Siren shook her head. "Never underestimate them Randie. They've tracked me this far, and I lost them at the river. That means they've lost my scent once already... they will find me again."

Randie put his map away. He tried to clear his mind of this Orion and focus on finding Binky, but he knew now he was in danger. Siren had already said the Houndour would have picked up on his scent so surely they would track him too now to find her.

"It's not just that they would have your scent Randie," Siren told him.

Randie sighed. He forgot she could read minds.

"The Houndour Master..." She began. "He can speak to the Houndour and Houndoom he raises. They would have told him..."

"That doesn't sound promising," Randie was aware his voice was quiverring.

Siren sighed. "I'm very sorry Randie, I should have thought this through more." She glared at him. "And stop with those insulting thoughts."

There was a loud flap of wings above them. They looked up, and a massive black shape was hovering above the forest. Whatever it was let out a loud crowing shriek and circled back.

Siren and Randie exchanged glances.

"Orion," Siren told him. "I told you they would find us again." She grabbed his arm and raced forward.

"We don't know which way we are heading!" Randie shouted helplessly as she dragged him along.

"Right now, I don't care," She told him. "We have to run before that Honchcrow tells them where we are."

"Honchcrow?" Randie shouted. "What the heck is a Honchcrow?"  
"There's no time for this now!" She shouted at him as he made to pull his Pokedex from his pocket.

Ludo caught up with them, and pointed behind him. "Houndour!"

"Oh no," Siren moaned. "They've found our trail again."

"Teleport!" Randie shouted at her.

The barking could be heard now, the Houndour were catching up fast.

"I don't know how I did it the last time," Siren panted, trying to keep ahead of the oncoming Houndour. "What if I land us right amongst them?"

Randie groaned. "Well now you're thinking about it, it's bound to happen!" He looked over at Ludo. "After the last encounter with the Houndoom, I think you should return to your Pokeball until we lose them." He called back Flit and turned back to Ludo.

Ludo shook his head. "I am not leaving you."

Randie sighed. "Please?"

Ludo glanced back over his shoulder. "They are getting closer. We can't outrun them."

There was a howl and the Houndour burst through the trees. Before they had time to act, they were on them like a cloud.

Hot fangs sunk into Randie's arm, dragging him down to the damp ground. He needed to call out a Pokemon and he didn't care which one so long as it helped. He plucked a Pokeball from his belt with his free hand and an explosion of electricity struck at the Houndour surrounding him. He found himself caught in the discharge and fell to the ground. Painfully he looked up at his Pachirisu. She was desperately trying to avoid the Houndour's fire attacks.

"Nutsy," He croaked. "Use Thunder."

The Pachirisu leapt into the air summoning down a thunderbolt from the sky. She channeled it at the pack of Houndour striking a few of them down. This wasn't enough. Randie couldn't see Ludo or Siren anywhere. His entire vision was filled with the barking firey beasts, and more were running at him.

"Discharge!" He shouted at Nutsy.

She obeyed, sending dangerous sparks everywhere. Randie was hit painfully once again, but this took down more of the Houndour. He tried to reach for his belt to call out Otto but Nutsy's attacks appeared to have paralysed him. Things were looking bad.

"Enough!"

The Houndour stopped their attacks. Randie felt slightly thankful to whoever had stopped them. He strained to look up, but his body was still stiff from Nutsy's attacks. A huge pair of black boots stepped into his field of vision. The Houndour retreated obediently behind the owner of the boots.

"Well well well," Said a very gruff voice. "We found 'em boss. The girl... and her lacky."

"Well done Mr Vantzer," Said a much less gruff voice. Another pair of boots joined the other ones. "We found you Project Siren. It was very naughty of you to escape like that."

"Where is Cherry?" He heard Siren call out. She was still okay, thankfully.

"Why are you worrying about that?" The less gruff voice asked her. "That Luxray is nothing for you to worry about, it isn't yours. We took it back." The boots stepped out of his vision. "Just like we are going to take _you_ back."


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Randie was panicking. He'd blacked out for a moment and now he'd lost sight of Nutsy and he still couldn't move. He was still in the forest and those two men were still with them. He was wondering fearfully what these men were going to do to them. And where was Ludo?  
"Well Mr Vantzer," He heard the less gruff voice once again. "Should we take her back alive?"  
"She'll only escape again Boss," Replied Mr Vantzer.  
"That's very true Mr Vantzer," The Boss sighed. "But we aren't finished with our experiments yet." There was a pause. "And she hasn't teleported away yet has she? She surely hasn't mastered her abilities."  
"Shall I chain her Boss?" Mr Vantzer asked.  
"Yes," Came his answer.  
He heard the unnerving sound of chains.  
"Get the boy when you're done Mr Vantzer," The Boss told him.  
"No," Siren told them. "He's nothing to do with this, leave him."  
"But he helped you," The Boss told her. "You must have told him something. We can't have secrets like that leaking out."  
The chains sounded nearer to him this time.  
"Leave him alone," Siren warned him.  
He felt rough hands grab him and lift him up.  
"I said _leave him alone_!" There was a sudden bright flash of purple light and the hands released him dropping him heavilly on the ground. He saw two men whizzing past into a tree, accompanied by a sickening crack. There was a daunting creak, and a tree fell to the floor just missing him. The houndour were barking and howling in panic, retreating away from the scene.  
"What just happened?" He croaked painfully.  
"I don't know," Siren replied. "I think I did that..." She paused. "Can you move?"  
"No," Randie answered.  
"Neither can I," Siren told him. "I'm chained up here."  
"Ludo?" Randie asked.  
Siren didn't answer.  
Randie tried to push himself up but only managed to roll over onto his back. "Ludo?!"  
"We need to get out of here," Siren told him. "I think those two will come around soon..." He could hear her shuffling, trying to get free of the chains. "This is hopeless!"  
"Where's Ludo?" Randie asked, managing to sit up.  
Siren sighed.  
He stiffly looked around and his eyes found Ludo sprawled on the floor amongst some scorched grass. He draggled himself over to him. "Ludo?"  
"He's okay Randie," Siren told him. "Just call him back."  
He called Ludo back to his Pokeball and fell back on the grass. It finally dawned on him what trouble he had gotten himself into. "I can't do this Siren."  
She sighed. "So now is not the time to tell you about Nutsy?"  
Randie spun around painfully. "What happened to her?!"  
Siren looked sad. She indicated a long patch of grass in front of her. He crawled over to it and tears welled up in his eyes. He scooped the Pachirisu up in his arms.  
"They're bad people Randie," Siren told him. "It's my fault this is happening to you. Maybe you should just leave."  
"What did they do to her?" He asked her.  
Siren looked away. "They kicked her out of the way... Called her a nuisance."  
"So she's..."  
Siren nodded. "I'm very sorry Randie..."  
He cried into the small Pokemon's fur. Realisation was sinking in. If only he'd listened to Ludo's warnings this would never have happened and he'd still be on his Gym Challenge blissfully unaware of Orion and their horrible ways.  
He heard Siren slump down in her chains. He knew she'd read his mind. He lay the limp body of Nutsy gently back onto the grass.  
"Don't feel bad," He told Siren. "It's not your fault."  
He crawled over to Siren and started trying to unfasten her chains. It was pathetic the way they'd tied her up, they hadn't even used a padlock. He managed to loosen the knots enough for her to get free.  
"Thanks," She told him as she dropped the chains onto the floor. "Can you stand yet?"  
Randie stood up shakilly. He steadied himself against a tree. "I think I'll be alright," He told her. He looked back over at Nutsy and stumbled over to pick her. Using a flat stone he dug a shallow hole and buried her in it. "Thank you Nutsy," He said as he placed a single flower on the ground and joined Siren. They made their way through Eterna Forest in silence.

Cherry slowed down as she saw lights in front of her. They were still far away but she felt they were heading in the right direction. The snow had thinned now and she was stood atop Mount Coronet. The lights were on the other side of the river. There was another city behind them but she felt for some reason she should go to this one. It was getting across the river that would be a problem. It was fast too – she would be able to swim it but not with the Mothim on her back. And he was growing weaker, there was no way he could hold on as she swam across this river.  
She glanced up and down the river for a moment, trying to find something to jump along. There was nothing. Then she spotted a movement on the other side. A Floatzel. She called over to it. The Floatzel turned to face her, preparing itself for a battle. Spotting the Mothim on her back it backed down. It called something back to her and dived into the water. The Floatzel was an amazing swimmer completely unphased by the river's current. Once on the other side of the river, it turned to face the other way.  
Cherry growled statically to the Mothim. He climebed slowly up onto her head and held on. Cherry dropped into the river, holding on to the Floatzel with her forepaws. Together they swam to the other side. The current was strong but with the Floatzel's help they made it to the riverbed without being washed downstream. She clambered out of the river and turned to the Floatzel. She nuzzled it thankfully and – after making sure the Mothim was okay – ran onward towards the city.

Randie and Siren had reached Eterna City. He was relieved they had been heading in the right direction as he dreaded going back through the forest after the confrontation with Orion and losing Nutsy. Their first stop was the Pokemon Centre to heal Ludo. The Lucario had regained conciousness by this point and followed the Nurse into the back of the hospital.  
Randie and Siren sat silently in the waiting room. He couldn't stop thinking about Nutsy, and blaming himself for her defeat.  
Siren found the silence too much and turned to him. "Do you want some lunch?"  
Randie shook his head. "I can't eat right now."  
"You do need to though," She told him.  
"I know," Randie replied. "Just-"  
Something burst through the door to the Pokemon Centre accompanied by a loud static roar.  
A nurse ran into the lobby at the noise followed by a Chansey. The Chansey was braced for battle.  
A Luxray halted in front of her with a Mothim clinging to its back.  
"Cherry!" Siren shouted, racing over to the Luxray.  
Randie stood up. "Binky?"  
The Mothim weakly raised its head to look at its master. It chittered happilly at him.  
He gently picked up his Mothim, but his heart sank when he saw his wings. "What happened to you?"  
Siren looked at him. "Give him to the nurse, then I'll tell you."


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

The nurse took care of Binky while Siren and Randie sat in the waiting room. The girl explained what had happened to Binky.  
"Orion caught him when he entered Snowpoint," She told him. "They broke his wings and he passed out from the pain. He woke up in a cage in a room filled with Pokemon. What he saw would turn your stomach. Cherry was in the cage next to him, and she managed to tear the bars off the cage and rescue him. Her priority was to get him to a Pokemon Centre."  
Randie looked at the Luxray sitting next to Siren. She looked happy and not like the aggressive looking creature he had seen in pictures.  
"Thanks Cherry," He told her. He turned back to Siren. "How do you know all this, did you read his mind?"  
Siren nodded. "I've never been in that room. What I saw in his mind was awful."  
Randie nodded. "How do they get away with all this?"  
"It's a secret organization," Siren told him. "Nobody knows about them. Like I told you – they caught me sneaking through their files and... did _this_ to me." She tapped her head.  
"So... what you did to those two men in the forest," Randie began, "Was that another Pokemon move do you think?"  
Siren nodded slowly. "I think so. It looked a lot like Psychic."  
Cherry looked up at Siren and buzzed in confusion. Siren stroked the Luxray's head affectionately and was rewarded with a rumbling purr.  
"Are you ready for dinner yet?" Siren asked him. "Because I'm going to get some now."  
Randie nodded. "I think so." He got up and followed Siren into the Cafe.  
"So," Randie began as he pulled a chair up to a small table by the window, "Now you have Cherry back, I guess I can go back to my Gym Challenge."  
Siren nodded meekly. "Yea, I guess you can now." She turned to look out of the window. "Thanks for your help, by the way."  
"It's okay," He replied. 'Though I wish I hadn't helped. I lost Nutsy, Ludo's been injured twice and has felt uncomfortable this whole time, and Binky is critically wounded... What possessed me to keep going anyway?' He poked at his baked potato.  
Siren gave him a piercing stare. "You're forgetting I can read your mind."  
"Sorry," Randie apologized quickly.  
"You could have left at any time," Siren told him. "Helping me was _your _choice."  
"I know," He replied. "And I'm glad you got Cherry back. Though I do feel like I was pretty useless."  
Siren snorted. "Useless? Without you I'd have been captured straight away."  
"You teleported," Randie told her. "I think you could have done that without me there."  
Siren didn't reply.  
"Which reminds me," He continued. "How do you think you are using these powers?"  
Cherry looked up at her master, as if waiting for an answer.  
Siren shrugged. "I have no idea. But if I think back – I teleported when I was afraid and felt cornered, and I used psychic because I was worried those men were going to hurt you."  
"Hmm... think it's a fear thing?" Randie asked her.  
"Could be," She answered. "I don't know, I can't do it on command anyway."  
"Excuse me."  
They both turned round. A nurse was stood at the table and had Ludo stood next to her.  
"I just want to tell you," The nurse began, "your Mothim will need to stay in over night. You are welcome to stay at the Pokemon Centre, it should be ready to leave us in the morning."  
Randie sighed with relief. "So he'll be okay?"  
The nurse nodded with a smile, "It will be just fine. I believe this is your Lucario? It has made a full recovery. Do take care." She smiled and turned to leave.  
"Thank goodness," Randie thought out loud. He looked over at Siren, beaming. However, she didn't look too happy, and appeared to be in a world of her own, aimlessly stirring her tea. "Are you okay?" He asked her.  
She looked up at him suddenly. "Oh, yea, of course," She put her spoon down. "Just tired."  
The Pokemon Centre Hostel had a bunk bed in the room and a small vanity table. It was very well lit and well kept. Randie was impressed. He threw his bag down on the floor and jumped into the bottom bunk. He couldn't believe how tired he was.  
Siren looked at him. "So I guess I get the top bunk then?"  
Randie shrugged.  
Siren climbed the ladder to the top. Cherry took up residence at the side of the bunk bed, Ludo watching her cautiously.  
"Don't worry about her Lucario," Siren informed him from above. "She wont hurt you unless I tell her to."  
Ludo looked at Randie, and Randie knew he wanted to tell him something but couldn't because Siren would 'hear' him.  
Randie decided to get some sleep. He climbed under the blankets, bid goodnight to his companions and fell asleep.

Randie was woken up by a gentle shake. He opened his eyes to see Ludo. "It's morning," The Lucario told his master.  
Randie rubbed his eyes. "I haven't had a nights sleep like that in months," He yawned. "Siren are you up?"  
There was no reply.  
"Randie," Ludo told him. He handed him a piece of paper. "She's gone. She left that."  
He picked it up and realized it was a note. Her writing was very untidy, but readable.

_Randie,_

_I've gone. Sorry for troubling you._

_I don't deal well with goodbyes. Thanks for your help._

_Good luck on your gym challenge._

_Siren_

Randie sighed and climbed out of bed. So she just left? He picked up his bag. Well at least he could collect Binky and continue with his gym challenge without worrying about running into danger on every corner.  
"Randie," Ludo addressed his master. "I need to tell you something."  
"What is it?" He asked him.  
Ludo looked nervous. "Uhm... it's about those two. Cherry and Siren." He looked at Randie. He was listening but was staring at the door. "That Luxray was also telepathic, but not aware of its abilities yet. That is not normal."  
"What does that have to do with us now?"  
"Well... neither of those two were bad, Randie. But... I think we are still in danger."  
"They've left."  
"Like Siren said – they'll be looking for us now as well as them. We know too much."  
Randie's mind drifted back to the events in Eterna Forest – those men just before they went to grab him had said: _"But he helped you. You must have told him something. We can't have secrets like that leaking out."_  
Randie turned to Ludo. "So now _we_ have to keep running?"  
Ludo nodded sadly.  
Randie was furious. "Now what are we going to do?!"  
"There is nothing we can do," Ludo told him. "We are like her now."  
"We are _nothing_ like her!" Randie shouted. "We can't teleport, or use psychic Pokemon moves! I'm _human_! _Normal_! And you know very well you can't handle those Houndour and Houndoom!"  
Ludo closed his eyes. "I tried, Randie."  
"I know, I'm sorry," Randie apologised. "I didn't mean that to sound bad, I'm just worried now. I thought once she had gone, things would go back to normal." He slumped back down on the bed. "And why did she just leave?"  
Ludo sat next to him. "She thought you didn't want her here."  
Randie looked at him. "You know why?"  
Ludo nodded. "I was awake."  
"Well what made her think I didn't want her around?"  
Ludo sighed. "You told her you wanted to go back to your Gym Challenge now she has Cherry back. It was playing on her mind, she felt... unwanted."  
"Well I never said 'alone'," Randie sighed. "Well... she was strange anyway. Let's go." He stood up to leave. "At least we can think freely again without her reading our thoughts."  
"Always an upside," Ludo laughed as he followed his master from the room.

Siren watched from the trees outside Eterna City. Ludo and Randie were leaving the Pokemon Centre, and both looked rather happy.  
"They seem happy enough," She told Cherry. "Guess they're really happy I'm gone."  
Cherry looked up at her and growled.  
"I hope they'll be okay," She told her. "I should never have dragged them into this mess."  
Cherry suddenly spun around and aimed lightning bolts into the sky above Eterna Forest. Siren saw a black feathered shape plummet through the tree canopy.  
"Honchkrow," She turned to Cherry. "Orion's back on our trail. Guess it's back to running."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the late upload. Writer's block is a curse.**

**9**

Randie followed Ludo's stare to the huge black bulk as it fell from the sky through the tree canopy. A lightning bolt had struck it. One he could only assume had been fired by Cherry.  
"Siren is still around," Ludo told him. "She is fleeing through the forest."  
Randie stared at the dense trees concern welling up in him. He knew Siren was heading through Eterna forest and it was a maze at the best of times.  
"You wish to help her still do you not?" Ludo sighed.  
Randie shook his head. "I need to focus on my Gym Challenge. It's over now."  
"Oh it isn't over." The voice was behind him. Randie froze and dropped his map. He knew that voice.  
Ludo spun around to face the speaker but confusion washed over his face as his eyes found nothing.  
"You know too much," The voice continued. "We need to stop that."  
Ludo was in a panic. He looked back at his master. "We are in trouble."  
"What should we do to them Mr Vantzer?" The voice continued. It was in front of him now.  
"We could put fire in them Boss." The gruff voice sounded behind him.  
"I can not pinpoint them," Ludo told him spinning around frantically.  
Randie did the only thing he could think to do. He grabbed Ludo and ran towards Eterna Forest.  
"Fire sounds like a fine idea Mr Vantzer."  
"I hear it burns at first Boss. But they'd get used to it."  
The voices followed them through the trees coming at them from all sides. Randie felt like he was trapped in a nightmare, trying to escape something he couldn't see.  
"It doesn't hurt my Houndour though," The gruff voice continued. "Not any more, it did when they were born though. They wailed with pain. Wailed like banshees Boss."  
"Fire. A fire breathing boy. An excellent idea, what a warrior he would make."  
Panic filled Randie. He ran as hard as he could, desperate to escape the two voices. He expected the speakers to come out of the trees at any moment.  
"The Lucario couldn't handle it though Mr Vantzer. It would kill it."  
"After what it put my Houndoom through it deserves it Boss."  
Ludo grabbed Randie's arm and pulled him into dense thorn bushes. "This way!"  
Sharp thorns snagged on Randie's clothes and scratched his arms and legs as he fought his way through. Ludo's resistance to them meant he could plow through them much faster. He looked back at his master struggling to clamber through them.  
"I am sorry," He said as he ran back to help him.  
"They're stuck now Boss!"  
"Send them in Mr Vantzer."  
Howls filled the air and a torrent of fire exploded upwards through the trees just behind them. It was a triumphant display from one of the Houndour. They were trapped.  
Suddenly Randie was dragged from the thorns by firm hands. He yelped as thorns made deep scraches in his body and struggled against his assailant.  
"Stop wriggling and follow me!"  
The hands dropped him and he spun around to meet Siren and Cherry.  
Ludo leapt from the bushes and landed next to them. Without looking back he ran on ahead and beckoned them to follow.  
Howls echoed through the forest. It was impossible to pinpoint where they were coming from now. Randie feared they were running straight into danger.  
"It's a trick!" Siren called to him. "They want to confuse us, just keep running!"  
"What if they're ahead of us?" Randie gasped.  
"They aren't!" Siren replied. "You saw that fire didn't you? They're behind us. They're toying with us."  
"My mother taught me not to play with my food," The gruff voice said near his right ear.  
A loud howl came from his left and a Houndour shot from the trees. It fastened its red hot fangs around his ankle and he crashed to the floor.  
Siren skidded to a halt and ran back to help him. Another howl sounded and she was dragged to the floor by another Houndour.  
Ludo ran to Randie's side.  
"Just run!" Randie told him.  
"I am not leaving you."  
"Run!"  
Ludo hesitated then stood up to leave. "I will come back for you." He ran through the trees and out of sight.  
Cherry watched after him for a moment before deciding to follow. She looked back briefly at Siren before vanishing through the trees.  
Another Houndour dived over them and watched after the retreating Pokemon.  
"Go fetch boy," the gruff voice told it.  
It raced after Ludo with an earsplitting howl.  
Randie kicked out at the Houndour with his free leg and his foot met its jaw. It yelped releasing him. He tried to stand but the pain in his ankle was excruciating. He fell back down.  
Rough hands grabbed him and dragged him to his feet, fastening handcuffs to his wrists.  
"You are going nowhere," The Boss's voice told him.  
A hairy man grabbed hold of Siren and he shook her voilently.  
"This one won't elude us any more Boss," He said in that gruff voice.  
The Boss dropped Randie onto the floor and walked over to her.  
"You are very naughty Project Siren," He said calmly as he chained her hands together. "You are coming back with us, and this time you wont escape."  
The hairy man watched through the trees as though waiting for his Houndour to return with Cherry and Ludo.  
"He's got them," He told the Boss.  
"Go and get them then Mr Vantzer."  
The hairy man obeyed and ran after the Houndour.  
"It wont do to have you two awake," The Boss told them.  
Randie felt suddenly very strange, as though something had silenced inside his head. Everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

"Are you awake?"  
Randie's eyes blinked open. The light hurt them. He closed them again quickly.  
"Not yet mum," He replied.  
His mind played over the dream he just had. Running through the forest escaping two men from Orion. Orion. Was it really just a dream? It seemed so vivid.  
"Come on Randie, wake up."  
Gentle hands shook him. He struggled to open his eyes again. His head felt foggy. He sat up in bed... he looked down. He wasn't in a bed. He was on a mattress on the floor. He looked around at his surroundings. This was not his room. He was in a cell. A very white cell, perfectly square. The dull light in the ceiling made everything seem so bright. He looked down at himself. He was still in his own clothes. He reached down to his belt, but it was gone. All his Pokemon were gone. His heart sank. It was all true.  
"It wasn't a dream," The voice told him. He looked around and spotted Siren sat on a mattress next to him. Her hair was tangled and she looked a mess.  
"Did they..." Randie croaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Did they do anything to you?"  
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Siren told him. "Just checked what abilities I had."  
Randie stared at the back of the closed and bolted white door. He was confused as to why the heavy padlock was on the inside.  
"Nothing here makes sense," Siren told him. "It's designed to mess with your head. Look around."  
Randie took her advice and looked around. He spotted a clock on the wall that said it was half past one, but the second hand was ticking backwards. There was also a small passage in the wall big enough for him to wriggle through.  
"Not an exit," Siren told him. "Try to go through there you only end up coming back out of it again after heading in the same way for an hour."  
It then hit Randy that the room was round. Spherical. It no longer seemed square. He looked up at Siren who now seemed higher up than him than she was previously. He stood up in confusion and the room was square again, leaving the two of them on the same level.  
"You will give yourself a panic attack, just calm down."  
Randie sat back down and faced Siren.  
"What is going on?" He asked her. "What is this place?"  
"Orion," She told him. "This room is an illusion. It's generated through Confusion."  
"Our confusion?"  
"No," Siren replied bluntly. "The Pokemon move. They are testing it."  
Randie sighed and looked back at the door. It was now open, and the padlock was gone.  
"Come on!" He told her as he ran to it. The door materialised in front of him and he bounced off it. He stared at it, confused. It was closed again, and bolts were running down the left side of it as though it had never been unlocked.  
Siren sighed. "You are naïve Randie. Just ignore it all."  
He sat down next to her on her mattress. "How do we get out of here?"  
"When they let us out," She told him.  
The room shifted to a spherical shape again and Randie closed his eyes. The disorientation made him dizzy.  
"Shut it out," Siren told him. "Think about anything else."  
Randie wondered where his Pokemon were. He was worried about what Orion would do to them. Would they really harm Ludo with fire?  
"Most likely," Siren told him. "Don't dwell on it."  
The room changed to a forest and a Houndour lept out at him, spraying him with fire. He screamed and fell backwards. A hand on his shoulder brought him back into the perfectly square room.  
"I said think about anything else."  
Randie sighed and put his head in his hands. "Like what? I'm worried."  
"Don't be. Confusion plays off your emotions."  
Randie shook his head. "Are we really in a white cell?"  
Siren shrugged glumly. "I woke up in here too."  
"So the forest isn't real?" He asked her.  
"I don't know."  
"Are my Pokemon really gone?"  
Siren shrugged once more.  
Randie swallowed and looked around himself. The cell was still perfectly square and just as white as it was when he woke up. He looked up at Siren.  
"Are you really here?"  
She looked at him. "I think so. Are you?"  
Randie looked away from her. The truth was he wasn't sure what was real now.  
"Me neither," Siren told him.  
He sighed with relief. She'd read his mind again. He kept forgetting she could do that.  
"Proof enough I'm here for you?" She asked him with a smile.  
Randie nodded and looked around himself again. He was aware the room hadn't changed since he'd started talking to Siren. Suddenly it shifted to a spherical shape again and he went dizzy.  
"Don't think about it!" Siren warned him.  
He shook his head and the room went back to a square. He looked at her.  
"Does it change for you?"  
"No," Siren told him. "I've shut it out."  
"What is this room really like?"  
"I don't know. Currently it's a plain square cell with nothing adorning the walls. No escape holes, no visible door. Nothing."  
Randie looked down to find he was sat on the floor. The mattresses were gone.  
"Listen," Siren sighed. "I'm very sorry I got you into this. I should never have asked for your help when I did."  
Randie smiled at her. "It's okay. I'm glad we got Cherry back."  
"But I lost her again," Siren sighed.  
"She might be fine."  
Siren shook her head. "The Houndour caught her. And Ludo too."  
Randie's heart sank.  
"To be honest, I'm scared. I know they want to test my powers."  
"Well how would they do that?" He asked.  
She sobbed into her hands. He watched her uncomfortably. "Is it painful?"  
"Think about it," She told him without looking up. "What situation have I been in whenever I've used them?"  
"A scary one," Randie answered.  
"I've been scared a billion times by Orion and I've never used them once before."  
"Then what changed?" He asked looking up at her. She was staring at him.  
She sighed and looked away. "I tried to tell you before."  
"You told me it was a fear thing," He reminded her.  
"No," She shook her head. "_You _said it was a fear thing."  
Randie paused for a moment thinking back. She was right. "Then what is it?"  
Siren sighed again. "I was scared for you."


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

Randie stared at her for a moment. She was staring down at her hands not moving.  
"What were you scared for me for?" He asked with a laugh.  
She shook her head. He couldn't decide if she was refusing to tell him something, or laughing. His reply came in the form of a sigh as she stood up to walk over to the opposite wall.  
Randie wondered if it was a wall, and all the walls vanished leaving the cell a wite open plane of white. He watched Siren stop where the wall used to be and lean her head against nothing. The walls reappeared again as Randie filled with concern for her.  
"So..." He began. "You're saying... you were more worried about me than you were for yourself?"  
Siren kept her back to him and nodded.  
"It was you they were after though," He reminded her.  
"But I dragged you into this."  
"You didn't have to."  
Siren didn't reply. She continued to stare at the wall. Randie instantly regretted his comment. She'd had reasons to ask his help.  
"My reasons were selfish," Siren told him. "Orignally I wanted your Pokemon to help me locate Cherry. I'd been told a boy and his Lucario had helped me... I assumed you wouldn't be working for Orion. I never know who to trust these days."  
Randie sighed. "I was happy to help you."  
"You weren't," Siren told him. "Not when you realised what danger you were in. I regret that now. Look where we are. I can handle being here myself, but not you. I've dragged you into something so dangerous and there's nothing we can do about it."  
"I think there is," Randie smiled at her. But she wasn't looking at him.  
She laughed. "Can you see a way out of this room?"  
Randie shook his head. "No but they'll let us out sooner or later."  
"You're naïve, Randie." She turned to look at him. "You just don't understand I care about you do you?"  
Randie stared at her, in a way he assumed would be described as 'dumb'. Words halted in his throat and came out as a "huh?"  
Siren sighed and turned to face the wall again. "There is one thing I have learned from Orion. It's to never open up too much, because they exploit weaknesses." Randie didn't answer, so she continued. "But they already know my feelings for you are a weakness. That was clear to them after the events in Eterna Forest."  
Randie's mind raced back to the first attack in Eterna Forest. Siren had sent a Psychic attack on the two men to keep them away from him. He'd not thought much about it before.  
"That's just it," Siren told him. "I didn't want them to hurt you. And they knew that."  
Randie stood up and moved over to her. He ignored the effects of Confusion trying to make the ground feel like jelly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she started to sob.  
"I didn't care if they hurt me," She continued. "So long as they left you alone. And now they wan't to test my powers. I know just how they're going to do that." She burst into fits of tears and slumped into Randie's arms.  
He held onto her gently trying to reassure her as she sobbed into his shoulder. He felt her wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly as though she were afraid he was going to vanish at any moment.  
"I don't want them to hurt you," She sobbed. "I care about you too much. I tried so hard to protect you by not letting my feelings show, and I failed. I even tried to run away, hoping they wouldn't come after you and they did."  
She was crying heavily now. Randie stroked her hair to comfort her and she looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked scared.  
"We'll be fine," He told her. "I promise."  
She shook her head sadly. "They're like a plague those two. They're everywhere."  
He held her for a bit longer, thinking up an escape plan if there was any possible way to escape. The room changed again and holes appeared in all of the walls like swiss cheeze. He ignored it, knowing it was just the effects of Confusion trying to give him false hope.  
"How did you escape last time?" He asked her.  
"Cherry," She sobbed. "She burst me out of the cell, much like she burst out before to help Binky."  
"Maybe she'll save us this time?" He stroked her hair gently and she cuddled into his chest.  
She shook her head. "No. I don't think she can help us this time."  
"If not," Randie began, "Just shut out your feelings for me."  
She looked up at him shocked. "What?"  
"Just like we're shutting out the Confusion in this room. Take no notice, so your powers wont be triggered."  
Tears welled up in her eyes again as she stared at him, bewildered. "You're being serious aren't you?"  
"Of course I am."  
She started to cry again and shook her head viciously. "It wouldn't work! They'd just keep on going until... they know it's you..."  
She fell into him, racked with sobs. He stroked her hair again gently, trying to comfort her. It wasn't working.  
Her voice was choked as she tried to speak through them. "Don't... I can't... they'll hurt you... I don't want them to..."  
He sighed, and held her to him. She was clearly terrified for him. He didn't want to upset her more by telling her he really cared about her too, but he worried if it was now or never. She looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears. He mentally kicked himself for not shutting off his rambling thoughts.  
"You do?" She asked him.  
"Of course. You think I would have stuck with you this long if I didn't?"  
She reached up to him and kissed him softly on the lips. He kissed her back for a moment, trying to fight off the butterflies threatening to explode inside him. She pulled back and burried her face into his chest, sobbing silently.  
He sighed again and watched the blank wall shifting in front of him. He just wanted to get them both out of this place and look for their Pokemon. He wondered if she could teleport. He looked back down at her, but she said nothing more. Maybe this time, she hadn't read his mind.


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

Ludo was sat in his cage. He watched the scene through the bars with interest. The two men came in carrying a struggling Raichu between them. They were wearing rubber gloves to prevent it from shocking them. They were the two same men from the forest wearing white. He couldn't see their faces, they were masked with a tinted plastic veil.  
It was always two men. The other men he couldn't pick up energy signatures off. They were illusions generated by these two men. They were by no means superhuman however. It took two of them to handle a Raichu, and none of the captive Pokemon around him were any bigger than a Luxray. Cherry had broken out. He knew these two men could handle nothing that matched a Luxray's power, or anything more powerful. This was why they were doing genetic experiements. They were trying to make something very powerful. Something they could control that had human intelligence, something that would obey them. That way they could handle more powerful Pokemon, and maybe even destroy them.  
He got this information from reading their minds and intentions. They were scared of the Raichu they were holding. This was clear enough with the rubber gloves and protective clothing. Under their clothes, they had a strange orb made from concentrated Psychic Pokemon matter. It generated Confusion, making them appear to be in many places at once. This was how they had tricked them in the forest.  
These men were of no threat. The hairy man could command packs of Houndour, which was a disadvantage to Ludo. However... it seemed like a pack of Houndour. A lot of the attack had been illusion cast from their Confusion. The hairy man, Ludo found out, had three Houndour, a Houndoom which was brought down and defeated, and a Honchkrow – defeated by Cherry's electrical attack.  
Everything was a trick designed to scare their captives. And it worked. He also now knew where Randie and Siren were being held captive. All he had to do was get out of this cage and let them out. He also had to save the Luxray who wasn't in this room. She was in another room on her own, strapped up to some machine. The two men were in a rush to get back to her and see what 'progress' she had made.  
The bars were feeble, nothing a good concentrated Aura Sphere couldn't deal with. He watched the men some more. He could talk to them if he wanted to, but he had no desire to. Threats were meaningless. They could fool him no more with their auras of Confusion around them. He knew all you had to do was shut out the effects of Confusion and not let it get to you. He had learned this from a specific gym battle back in Hoenn with Randie. He had only been a Riolu at the time, rescued as a stray by Randie. His last master had disowned him for failing the same Psychic gym challenge, and Randie had helped him through it. He had always had faith in him. He owed a lot to his master. And he wasn't just his master, he was his friend.  
He stood up in his cage and watched as the two men roughly threw the Raichu into its cage. They locked it and left the room.  
It had taken two of them to handle one Raichu. There were only two men in the whole building, the rest were captives. They had no idea he knew all this about them, and he had a plan. There was no way they could handle all the Pokemon at once. He looked around the room and, concentrating all his power, blasted the bars clean off his cage.

Cherry tried to fight the wires sticking to her body. Every electrical attack she fired at them was absorbed into the machine at her side. She had no idea what the machine did, but the two men were staring at it.  
One of them turned to the other. "She's getting stronger Boss."  
"I can see that, Mr Vantzer. Her electrical attacks are almost at Legendary strength."  
"Shall I give her another charge Boss?"  
"Yes Mr Vantzer. Charge her up some more."  
The wires sent volts of electricity into her body and she screamed in pain, collapsing to the floor. She tried to fight herself free from the wires, but they had her trapped in an electromagnetic field. Eventually the attack stopped, and she fired another one back in retaliation. This time the machine exploded, sending the two men catapulting against the wall.

Ludo was surrounded by thirty or so scared and angry Pokemon. They were all looking to him for help and a way out. Many of them were asking him for their masters, some of who were trapped in this building. He now had to rescue humans as well as his own master and Siren. He told the other Pokemon to follow him, and he opened the door. An explosion shook the building. They all froze, then started panicking. Ludo silenced them with a loud bark and turned his attention back down the corridor. Something was wrong. Something had blinked out on his energy radar. Something or someone had been killed.  
Smoke filled the corridor. The smell of burning quickly met his nose. The other Pokemon panicked again but he kept them in check behind him. He ran forward, towards the smoke. The only exit meant taking a huge risk. He spun around to check his party and pointed to a Squirtle and a Wooper. They took position at his side and, with a deep breath, he led them further into the smoke.  
A flash of light almost blinded him. He sensed something moving towards them purposefully. It was the Luxray, and she had come back to let the other Pokemon out. He called out to her and told her he had already saved them. She paused and turned away from him, saying she would lead him to the exit. He froze, her psychic abilities had been unlocked.  
He called out to the other Pokemon, and followed after Cherry. The smoke was thick and choked them as they forced themselves through it. She bounded ahead of them and fired her electricity into a door with such force it exploded off its hinges. The sweet smell of grass and fresh air welcomed them after the thick smoke.  
Ludo told the other Pokemon to go outside, but kept the Squirtle and Wooper. He would need them. He turned to Cherry and asked her where Randie and Siren were. She led him down a corridor, away from the smoke. He was relieved the fire hadn't reached them yet. He turned to the two water Pokemon and asked them to stand guard and fight the fire if it threatened to trap them. The Luxray took him down a flight of stairs into a room filled with cells. Human cries greeted them, panic filled wondering what the explosion had been. Wondering if they were all going to die.  
He fired an Aura Sphere at one of the cells. The door flew open and a scared group of humans stared out of them.  
"Go! Upstairs, get out!" He told them.  
There were more doors to open, more humans to free. Cherry blasted one of the doors free from its hinges. More scared faces stared out at them.  
"Go!" He told them.  
He ran to another door. He knew this one had Randie trapped inside. With another Aura Sphere, the door flew open.  
"Ludo!" Randie cried. He ran out of the cell and threw his arms around the Lucario.  
Siren followed him out, her eyes bloodshot. She spotted Cherry firing lightning bolts at another cell door, releasing the prisoners.  
"There is a fire," Ludo told them. "We must get out."  
All the cells had been checked and they took the stairs back out, following after the escaping humans.  
The fire was starting to spread and the Squirtle and Wooper were keeping it back. Everyone was running out of the open door to freedom.  
Ludo led his master and friends outside and the Squirtle and Wooper, satisfied everyone had made it out, followed after them, leaving the building to the mercy of the fire.  
With a sigh of relief they stood ankle deep in the snow and watched the Orion Headquarters as smoke snaked its way out through the windows and doors.


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

They stood in the snow watching the smoking laboratory. A small back alerted Randie and he looked down to see Flit looking up at him. His other Pokemon were with her and he smiled at them, relief fluttering in his chest. He looked back at the building and turned to Ludo.  
"What happened in there?" He asked him.  
"I have no idea," the Lucario replied.  
Siren looked down at Cherry. She appeared to be listening to her. She turned to Randie and Ludo. "Cherry says that the machine she was tied to exploded."  
"What about those two men?" Randie asked. "Shouldn't we be running?"  
Siren looked back down at Cherry, then back to Randie. "She says she thinks the explosion killed them."  
Ludo shook his head. "I only sensed one death, not two."  
"So one of them is still alive?" Randie looked back at the building. "Where is he?"  
"Hopefully still in there," Siren said. "We should go."  
"Not so fast," A voice said behind them. It was the voice of The Boss.  
They turned to look behind them but nobody was there.  
"It is false Confusion," Ludo told them. "Pay no attention. It is all a trick to frighten you."  
"Where is he then?" Randie asked, scared.  
"He also uses the Psychic matter to mask his presence," Ludo replied. "Stay vigilent. There are more almost sixty of us here, human and Pokemon. We have the upper hand."  
This reassured Randie. He looked around him, and spotted in the doorway a hunched figure propping itself against the door.  
"There he is!" Randie pointed.  
The Boss edged away from them, sideways away from his horrible laboratory. He was clearly injured and knew he was outnumbered.  
With the cries of many outraged Pokemon Trainers, the Pokemon raced forward and swarmed over him, bringing him down.  
"Wait!" Siren called out.  
Some of the Pokemon halted their attacks, but the more enraged kept going.  
Siren approached them and looked down at The Boss. She sighed when she discovered he was past giving answers. Randie appeared by her side. The Pokemon started to disperse, satisfied they'd had their revenge.  
"I was going to ask what he'd done to me," She told him.  
Randie shrugged. "Maybe it's better to not know."  
Something caught his eye. Near an angry Ambipom's feet was a small notebook. He picked it up quickly and flicked through it. It contained notes of all the experiments Orion had done. The majority of which was titled 'Project Siren.'  
"This might help," He said as he handed it to her. "He must have been desperate to save his research."  
"That meant he was going to set up somewhere else I'd imagine," she said as she took it from him. She glanced over it and shock filled her eyes. She stared at the pages for a good few minutes, flicking and growing more and more wide eyed as she read on.  
"What does it say?" He asked after a long pause.  
She didn't reply. She was now staring at one of the pages, silent and shocked. She eventually looked up at him. "I think it's better if we find somewhere quiet to sit and go over this." She flicked through the pages some more. She shook her head in disbelief. "These men were insane."  
"Right, then we'd better make our way to Snowpoint."  
Siren nodded. "It even has some of my background in here. Dated fourteen years ago – they took me from my bed while I was on holiday along with my Shinx. So Cherry _is_ mine..."  
An affectionate buzz sounded near her heels and she looked down at her Luxray. A wide smile spread across her face and she hugged Cherry tightly.  
Randie looked behind at the other Pokemon and their trainers, but a majority of them had dispersed, happily reunited and wanting nothing more than to escape this place. The snow was falling gently now and the sun was high above them.  
Ludo approached them, looking behind him as he moved. "We should move on. I do not know about you two but I would like to leave this place behind."  
Siren closed the book and put it in her pocket. She took Randie's hand and they made their way away from the Orion Headquarters towards Snowpoint City.

They sat in the cafeteria in Snowpoint Pokemon Centre. Their Pokemon were currently being seen to, but having no Pokeballs had been a concern. After, Randie decided, he would run to the nearest shop and buy some.  
Siren handed the notebook to Randie. "Here, have a look." She poked at her baked potato, no longer hungry.  
"Do I really want to read this?" He asked, flipping the notebook open.  
Siren sighed. "It explains a lot."  
The notes weren't illegible, but seemed to be written with a shaking hand. He began reading the spider-like handwriting.

_Today we came back from Johto. We managed to obtain a lot of foreign Pokemon along with a girl and her Shinx. We took this girl from a hotel in Goldenrod City. We had watched her for a few days and she showed great potential. We could use her. She could lure our enemies into a false sense of security. We just need to give her the right weapons. We have erased her memory so she doesn't try to escape. We have decided to call her Project Siren._

_ After a few months of stamina training, Project Siren is proving to be very reliable. More so than the other children. We are currently keeping her in the Dormitories with our other experiments. She isn't interested in the other children however, unusual for a four year old. She is more interested in the Shinx. We are keeping the two together for a while. If all goes according to plan, the two of them will make a dangerous duo._

_ Project Siren was infused with Abra DNA. There appear to be no changes. This is dissappointing, it seems the experiment was a fail. We handed her a spoon and told her to bend it with her mind. She did not succeed. As punishment, we took the Shinx off her._

_ It has been ten years since we last ran tests on Project Siren. The stamina training has been continued but today we used a different method. We had taken the Shinx off her when she was much younger. We told her today if she could find it she could have it back. She got into the air ducts and searched the building. She found it in under an hour. Her intuition is incredible. Maybe the DNA is kicking in._

_ Three years on and still no sign of any psychic abilities. We took the Shinx back off her to run tests on it. She came looking for us. She witnessed us force it to evolve straight into a Luxray with electronic surges. This appears to have distressed her. She ran we spotted her. She has some stealth ability. Maybe we can still use her._

_ Project Siren was spotted going through files in our office. She must be looking for information on the Luxray, but we cannot be sure. We fear she may know too much. We reminded her the Luxray is no longer hers and she got upset. More upset than we have ever seen her. We decided to run more tests. It appears she does have Psychic abilities but they are dormant. We tried to erase her memory but something went wrong. We fear she may still know confidential information. We took the girl and locked her in the Confusion room._

_ Project Siren has escaped, and the Luxray has gone with her. We have no idea how this is possible, but the door to the Confusion room was wide open. We tracked her to the river, but she had vanished. The Luxray was recaptured, but we have lost the girl. We will continue to track her._

Randie flicked through the rest of the notes. They were about him helping Siren and their panic that she may have told him some of their secrets. Siren was right, they had figured out her Psychic abilities were an emotional response. He was relieved they had escaped before Orion tried anything. He handed Siren the notebook.  
"So you have no memory of Johto?" He aksed her.  
She shook her head. "I always said I wanted to travel. It looks like I did when I was younger. I wonder what became of my parents? I always assumed I was an orphan, and that was all Orion was – an Orphanage. I was very wrong."  
It was very sad Siren had no childhood. She didn't even know her real name, and it wasn't recorded in the notes. A crazy idea struck him. He looked up at her.  
"You could travel with me," He told her. "I'll put my Gym Challenge on hold for a while."  
"Are you crazy?" Siren gasped. "You'd just put it on hold?"  
"Yes. We can start at Hoenn. You could do the Gym Challenge there. I can teach you to catch your own Pokemon, then after I show you Hoenn we can make our way to Johto. We can try to track down your family."  
"But the notese said I was on holiday," Siren reminded him.  
"The hotel might have records. We could ask."  
Siren thought about this for a moment before turning back to Randie with a huge smile. "Okay. Let's have more adventure."

**One Month Later**

Siren and Randie laughed as they left Fortree Gym.  
"That was exhilarating!" Siren said as she looked down at her first badge.  
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Randie smiled at her. "It was sweet of her to remember me five years on!"  
Siren threw her arms around Cherry. "Thank you girl!"  
Cherry let out a little satisfied buzz and snuggled into her master's arms.  
She looked down at a rather downcast Cherrim. "Don't worry Blossom, you tried your best."  
Randie laughed at the memory of Siren's disapproval of his chosen Pokemon names.  
"Hey," She pushed him playfully. "I can still read your mind you know."  
"Don't worry, I didn't forget," He laughed at her. He watched her as she playfully danced around with her Cherrim and Luxray. He couldn't believe it was only one month ago they had defeated Orion. Randie hadn't hesitated to put his Gym Challenge on hold to take Siren to Hoenn, but first she had insisted she was to catch a Pokemon of her own to add to her team. She had jumped at the opportunity to capture a cute little Cherubi who evolved in no time. She still only had two Pokemon, and he was delighted to see her this happy and enjoying herself.  
She ran over to him and threw her arms around him, planting a kiss on his lips. "So which gym is next? I think I'm on a roll!"  
Randie laughed delighted at her enthusiasm. "It's in Mossdeep City. It should be no problem for Cherry but it's a Psychic gym."  
Siren took his hand and dragged him away towards the route leading out of Fortree.  
"In that case I need to prepare myself! Let's get some training done."  
Ludo appeared out of his Pokeball and stood next to Randie. "Quite some enthusiasm she has." He smiled at his master.  
Randie nodded. "It's good, she hasn't exactly had a fantastic life."  
Ludo nodded his agreement. "I think I shall help her prepare for this Gym."

End


End file.
